Editor’s note: The following story from The Center Square says 10 Georgia sheriffs will get a pay raise, but it doesn’t identify them. The raise is for sheriffs in counties with a population between 39,000 and 49,999, and Colquitt County’s population in the 2010 census was 45,498, which puts it in that group.

 

(The Center Square) – The Georgia Senate unanimously approved a bill Wednesday that would increase pay for local sheriffs left out of legislation approved in 2019.

House Bill 129 would increase the minimum annual salary for sheriffs serving in a county with 39,000 to 49,999 residents. The bill cleared the Senate, 50-0.

The Georgia Sheriffs’ Association lobbied for the bill to increase the salary for the eligible sheriffs from $79,762 to $83,750, reflecting a nearly $4,000 raise.

Rep. Sam Watson, R-Moultrie, a co-sponsor of the bill, said some sheriffs were excluded from legislation in 2019 that approved a pay raise for all constitutional officers. Sen. Bo Hatchett, R-Cornelia, who presented the bill Wednesday, said the group of sheriffs was “inadvertently left off.”

Terry Norris, executive director for Georgia Sheriffs’ Association, said the 5% raises approved in 2019 took effect in January but not for sheriffs in 10 counties.

“This is a corrective action that all Georgia sheriffs appreciate the General Assembly for resolving, and we will now be asking our governor to sign the bill as quickly as possible,” Norris said.

The legislation cleared the House, 166-4, on Feb. 11. It now heads to Gov. Brian Kemp for approval.